Saturday, December 12, 2015

Have you ever wondered why certain of your Twitter followers make a conscious effort to stop your tweets from entering their timeline? Does it bother you if someone un-follows you? Would you change your approach if those former followers shared what moved them to un-follow you? Do you even care if people un-follow you?

I think it would be good for people to clearly identify why they decide to un-follow someone; for their own benefit and for the benefit of the person they're no longer following.

What are the Reasons for Un-Following Someone?

Earlier this year I wrote a post titled “How Can I Know Who Will Eventually Unfollow Me?” where I posited reasons why I think people un-follow me on Twitter. I think it’s reasonable to extend these reasons to all forms of social media in general. From that post I’ve summarized the content of a poll I’d like those who un-follow me to complete.

Twitter Polls to the Rescue?

It’d be cool if Twitter allowed you to poll those who un-followed you. How simple would it be to have a pre-defined poll that would pop up to allow the person un-following another to share why they're doing so. Or send an auto-reply message with a link to a survey when someone un-follows another. Companies have been doing this for year when someone unsubscribe from a newsletter or other information service. Why not Twitter?

Reasons Why Others May Un-follow You

You're a Gamer

1. You're using a "How to Obtain Followers Algorithm" and you’re not falling for it

2. You didn’t follow them back soon enough or even at allYou've Got Nothing To Share

3. You don’t share the kind of info they're looking for

4. You don’t share enough information or any information at all

You Share Too Much5. You share too much information about yourself, your product/company and/or what you had for lunch

6. They didn’t mean to follow you in the first place or they made an ‘impulse follow’ they now regretYou're Not 'Their Kind of People'7. You’re associated with <insert company type here> and <insert company type here> are evil8. You’re not politically correct and that hurts their sensitivities

I.e. you’re transparent with your principles, thoughts and feelings and that makes them uncomfortable

9. You feel strongly about the U.S. Constitution or certain parts of it like the 2nd Amendment

10. They think their company, firm, organization, association, etc. can’t risk being seen as "associated with you and your brand"

They're Persnickety

11. They're reducing the number of people they follow so that they:

- look more discriminating by following fewer people - don’t have to learn how to use lists to organize and filter information from a larger followee base

To be sure, there may not be a single reason people un-follow you. Most likely it's a combination of the above reasons.

Why Do You Un-follow?

Can you share why you un-follow people in the comments below? Better yet, take this anonymous survey and share why you may have un-followed me. Here's your chance. Let me have it. I'm not asking for you to identify yourself and indeed I'm not aware how I could track any poll participants; nor would I want to do so.

And if Twitter ever provides the ability to do an auto-reply when someone stops following an account, I'll be sure to send those who un-follow me the above referenced survey.

That's All!

If you've never followed me on Twitter, consider following me - ShimCode - to get more information about healthcare data, technology and services - among other things - some of which may incent you to un-follow me. :)